Bunching problems on quilt top
 

I am quilting a quilt using intersecting straight lines. The lines are about 3" apart. The horizontal lines went in fine, although I noticed there was a little distortion/stretching when I sewed the lines closest to the edges. The main problem I have is when I come back and sew the vertical lines. I start getting bunching/puckering when approaching seams on the quilt top. Just some info:
- I spray basted my quilt. The backing looks perfect, no problems there. I also added some straight pins for good measure.
-I'm quilting with a walking foot- stitch length of 3.5
-It does not happen at every seam. About 40% of them I would say.
-I pressed my seams open when piecing.

Any suggestions? I go slow with the walking foot, keep any drag off the quilt, and keep it smooth and flat as it feeds. My gut tells me it's a problem with the basting- that maybe some of the seams aren't laying as flat as they should be. Anyone else have this problem? Thanks!

Did you start quilting in the center & work your way out? Also, sew one seam from top to bottom, then the next one bottom to top. In other words alternate your seam directions. If the first set of seams trapped fullness between the rows, you might have to take them out & re do.

Just wondering, when you did your horizontal stitching did you begin at the center and then progress to the edges? Three inches lines would give some play between the layers... does it depend when the walking foot reaches the sewn line as to the stretching on the open area? Also wondering if you would stitch an additional line of stitches at the 1-1/2" mark would solve your issues? I am positive someone with more experience than I will have an answer for you.
I am sorry about your problems.

Judy in Phx, AZ

If you heavily starch your quilt top before layering (as heavily as possible, as in several layers of spray starch allowing to dry in-between), this helps prevent the problem. Even now you can help the top by adding several layers of spray starch. Lay the quilt out on the floor on a large flat sheet to catch overspray, mist the top with spray starch, allow to dry (a fan speeds it up), mist again, let dry, etc. In other words, you don't have to iron. What the spray does is stabilize the fabric in the top so it is much less likely to get stretched while sewing. (Since you are not getting puckers on the back, I am wondering if the backing is unwashed fabric that still has the sizing in it; this too helps stabilize fabric and prevent it from stretching as you sew.)

The problem you are having is that the top fabric is stretching just a tiny bit with each stitch; by the time you get to where you need to cross the previous quilting line, a little bubble of fabric is between the needle and the line. This creates a pucker.

Since 60% or so of the time you are not getting the pucker, I think the spray starch misting several times may eliminate the problem for you.

If your machine allows you to ease up on the pressure, this might help too. If you ease up too much, though, you may start getting "tiny stitch syndrome" where the walking foot stops advancing the layers (a problem which is also created by drag).

I quite often would have that problem of bunching at intersecting seams. Once I lowered the pressure on the presser foot , problem solved.

It also depends upon what type batting you are using. If it is polyester, it tends to shift between the layers, even though the top and backing may be secured, the middle layer or strands of the batting may still shift.

Thanks for the suggestions. My machine doesn't have the ability to lower the pressure on the presser foot, so that option is out. I wish I did have that option because a lot of what I have read suggests that. Adding more quilting lines at 1.5" like someone suggested might help hold things down too, I just prefer the look of less quilting. Guess it might be a trade off I have to make. I know the puckers will hardly show once it is washed, but they still bug me! I just felt that it was for sure a basting issue since some seams were laying perfectly flat as I crossed them and others 'stood up' a little. Does anyone have any tips for spray basting, especially when adhearing the top? All the tutorials I read give great detail about spreading the back taut (which I think I do well) but not much give details about spreading the top.

Just commiserating: I just finished doing FMQ on a huge top that I had pieced about 3-4 years ago. So Many Puckers! I chalked it up to poor piecing but reading these notes I can see how my fmq could have done it too. I usually so baby quilts so this was a new experience for me! I decided to come here and read...

Comment on not allowing top pressure to be adjusted....I thought all machines had that capability? Maybe not vintage? When I use my walking foot I always lowered the top pressure by a few numbers

I can't lower the pressure on my machine either. It has "automatic" pressure supposedly. I prefer being able to set the pressure myself.

You do need to be careful with how 'taut' you spread your backing out. If you put too much tension on it so that you are actually stretching it, when you remove the tape or clamps that you have used to do this, the fabric will recoil back to relax and your top will have been spread over an area too small for it suddenly, if you get my drift.. Also, when you use spray basting, like 505, Ann Peterson recommends ironing the quilt after it's spray basted to set the adhesive. So that's how I do it and haven't had any problems. I'm working on a 100 x 116" quilt and the only small puckers I had in the top were where my piecing was less than optimum and the quilt is a heavily pieced In HST's and 4 patches. I ditched it on my Janome 6600 with a walking foot.

If you are using a FMQ (darning) foot rather than a walking foot, you can adjust the pressure by wrapping an elastic band around the top of the post -- push down on the spring a bit first. I have found I can actually get better straight line results with a darning foot than with a walking foot on my machine -- a 1975 Singer Genie.

The other thing I have found that helps if I do use a walking foot is to alternate between sewing horizontal & vertical lines. That way the bunches are pushed out to the corners rather than popping up at the intersections. Also, I know it's a big "no-no" in the quilting world, but sometimes I will pull behind & in front of the walking foot. Apparently, on some machines that will cause slipped or loose stitches, but I don't have that issue & it helps to compensate for some of the QC issues I have using a modern generic walking foot with my "vintage" machine.

I haven't used the spray basting so don't know if my "method" works with that but, when I'm approaching a previously stitched line, I pull the quilt just a bit and that seems to ease everything better. It lets me avoid the puckers that I think you describe.

When I spray baste I use painters tape to tape the backing to our ping pong table. I don't stretch it but make sure it is taut enough so that when I run my hand across it, it doesn't bubble. Then I smooth my batting on top without spraying anything. Using a board that is slightly wider than my quilt, I start at the narrowest edge, and roll up the batting half way, flipping the board and wrapping the batting around it as I go. Then I spray.........either the batting as I unroll, or the backing fabric. Unroll the batting and repeat on the other side. I never get any wrinkles or bubbles. Next, position the top on the batting in the position desired. Repeat, only this time roll the top onto the board and spray the batting. Everything stays straight and wrinkle free. Works for me. Once I am done, I release the painters tape and using straight pins, pin all around the edge of the top, through all three layers. When I get back to my sewing machine I baste around the entire edge with my walking foot to hold the three layers together while I FMQ. Sometimes I press all three layers together, sometimes not, before I begin. Good luck and hope this helps.